Director
Steve McQueen
Leading Actors/Actresses
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Lupita Nyong'o, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sarah Paulson
Genre
Drama
Language
English
Awards
Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress (Nyong'o)
Date of Release
November 8, 2013
Producer
Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas
Setting and Context
Saratoga, New York and Louisiana plantations, 1841-1853
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is that of Solomon Northup's, but there is no narrator.
Tone and Mood
Dramatic, disturbing, moving, serious, raw.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Solomon. Antagonist: Epps and the other white slavers.
Major Conflict
Solomon Northup, a free black man, is deceived and sold into slavery in 1841, sent to Louisiana to work under horrible conditions on the plantation of a particularly evil plantation master, Edwin Epps.
Climax
The climax occurs when Solomon is released from slavery and brought away from Epps' plantation.
Foreshadowing
Brown and Hamilton intently watching Solomon drink at dinner in Washington foreshadows the fact that they have ulterior motives and that they are drugging him.
Understatement
Solomon's first words upon being reunited with his family, apologizing for his appearance and calling the past 12 years of living as a slave a "difficult time" is an example of understatement.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
Allusions
Allusions to the history of slavery and the Bible.
Paradox
Solomon endangers his life even more by telling people that he is a free man and that he is educated. It does not benefit him to advocate for his own autonomy and intellect.
